Immortal Beloved
by Spellbound-angel03
Summary: A private detective must free a lost vampire princess and help her get back her throne. I'm really bad at summaries.
1. The Beggining

Immortal Beloved

By: Angel

Edited by: Chen

Prologue

City: New York Year: 2009

He sat there just staring at the beautiful woman in the faded picture he held. More a sketch really, it had been drawn well over two hundred years ago, by a man named Endymion. In fact the man was the author of the worn book on his desk. It wasn't a storybook like he'd originally thought, but a very strange journal. When he had first found the book a week ago at a bazaar during one of his trips to Madagascar, he had known it was special. There was something very important about this journal that called to him and he felt somehow connected to the book when he picked it up. But this man, Endymion, had lived almost two hundred years ago and there's no way he could have known him. It just felt right that he had to have this book. So far he had not found anything significant in it to give him any clue as to why he'd felt that way. It was full of things one would write in a journal, travel plans, business meetings, friends and parties. There were even some references to this pretty girl or that one, but nothing to set off the possessive feelings he had felt when he had seen the book.

Sighing tiredly, he sat forward in his chair to set down the picture and pick up the journal and opened it to the last entry. Reading the date he paused, and realized that the last entry was dated six months after the previous one, while all the other entries are no more than one week apart. It does not make sense; the journal had shown that Endymion who was every bit of a dedicated writer had missed six months of writing. As he placed the journal back on his desk, he wondered what could have happened in the span of six months and had kept him from writing in that period. Maybe there is more to this journal than meets the eye; maybe, just maybe this will give him some sort of clue to as why he had felt such possessiveness towards this journal. A clue indeed, so picking up the journal once again, he continued his reading.

_Ok so that's it. The Prologue to my second story complete and.....short I know, but this is just a taste so I hope you all liked it and will read chapter one next time. Well that's it for now please review I love knowing what people think about my work even if they don't like it. Criticism just makes me want to work harder to do the best I can. _

_Bye _

_Angel_


	2. The Search

Thanks for the reviews everyone who did. Hope this chapter is more to your liking.  
Chapter one  
  
The Journal: London, England June 20, 1818  
  
  
I first met my dearest Serenity at a masquerade being held by my good  
friend Sir Peter Randolph a couple of months ago. She was dressed as a  
Sorceress with her long golden hair streaming in little ringlet curls  
around her face and wearing an old fashion velvet dress of midnight  
blue to match her eyes, it was embroidered in gold around the high  
collar, front ties, long bell shaped sleeves, and cape. She was truly  
enchanting, the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, just a girl  
really, barely seventeen. But then I didn't know what she was at the  
time, how could I have known that she was really very much older then  
she appeared. She was the daughter of a count from a small country  
called Transylvania. . If I remember correctly, I think the name was  
Count Dracula. Only I found out her father's infamous name a little  
later, and a little too late. She had attended the ball with her  
cousin Lady Mina Winthrop. A chatty girl dressed as a gypsy, with  
blonde hair, blue eyes and a dress cut way to low to be proper. She  
had come in place of her father who she said was prevented from coming  
because of business. What business that was I did not find out till  
much later.  
We chatted for hours about the people that were in attendance at the  
masquerade and places that we both had visited, it never occurred to  
me that it was strange somebody whom as young as she was actually very  
well traveled. We spoke of France, Italy, even the alleged affair of  
Count Vistmount and the Duchess of Winchester. Her charming manner and  
witty personality fascinated me to no end, and when it was time for  
her to go I asked if I could call upon her the following day.  
'My father would never allow it.' She'd said regretfully. It did not  
make sense to me why her father would not want me to call upon her  
after all I was a Duke, and a very rich Duke. Hundreds of other  
mothers and fathers would be thrilled if I had called on their  
daughters. It didn't make sense.  
But then I didn't know that the reason her father wouldn't approve of  
me was because I was mortal.  
  
  
  
Darien paused in his reading. Looking back at the page to reread the  
same paragraph over and over again to make sure he hadn't misread  
anything. Shocked that not only did the book mention The Count  
Dracula, father of all vampires and lord of darkness, but also the  
word mortal, which was what the pure blooded vampires called humans.  
'What did he mean by that?' he wondered silently. Mystified he turned  
to the next page and continued reading.  
  
The Journal  
  
I didn't listen to her, I called in on her the day after the  
masquerade, and her father was away. She told me it was dangerous, but  
I did not care I was too wrapped up in her beauty to see the danger.  
I know that is certainly the lamest excuse I personally have ever  
heard, even when it has come out of my very own mouth, but I realize  
now that I had been in love with her even then. Her kindness and  
naivety was even more alluring than her beauty. It is amazing to me  
how she could have seen all the things she'd seen and yet still  
retained such innocent. But then it also amazes me that one so  
innocent could also be so wise. Serenity had been to places and seen  
things I'd only ever dreamed of or things I could only read in books.  
She was amazing, like a goddess to me. And despite her countless  
warnings, I pursued her. How could I do anything less? I was so  
besotted with her; it nearly killed me to stay away when her father  
returned from business. But he never stayed long, and again I would go  
to her.  
After many wonderful months of sneaking around, I asked her to marry  
me, I said I couldn't live without her and offered to ask her fathers  
permission when he returned, but she said no and broke down crying. I  
was crushed; I thought she loved me as well. I still remember exactly  
what she said, 'I do. I do love you Endy. But I can never marry you.  
My father will never allow us to be together.' Tears streaming from  
her eyes she curled her fists tightly in the material of my shirt and  
held on to me with all her might. I suggested we elope to Gretna  
Green, a Scottish town across the boarder, where we could be married  
and come back in a year. There wouldn't be anything her father could  
do to us then, but she only cried harder and denied that option,  
saying her father would kill me. I had laughed her comment off, but  
she only sobbed harder, and not knowing what else to do I kissed her.  
Not our first kiss, but definitely our most passionate thus far. That  
night would not be a night I would soon forget.  
Remembering that night now I wouldn't change a thing about the  
decisions I had made. I still would have chased my beloved and I still  
would have shared that one special night with her. Well maybe there is  
one thing I would change. I would change yesterday. If only I had  
known her father was coming home. I would never have come for her that  
night.  
  
  
"Don't you have anything better to do than read that book?" He looked  
up irritated at the owner of the voice. A beautiful girl about 5'7  
with long black hair with purple highlight, she stood in front of his  
desk in a red leather jacket unbuttoned to show off the form fitting  
violet camisole underneath and a pair of black leather pants, her  
hands were impatiently placed on her hips, and her violet eyes were  
glaring down at him. "I've been standing here for the last five  
minutes trying to catch your attention."  
"What can I do for you Ray?" he asked ignoring her rant. "Another  
zombie on the loose?" it was a statement meant to provoke more than an  
actual question, she knew it and it made her glare even harder.  
"When are you going to shut up about that? So I made one mistake, big  
deal, get over it." As she raised her voice and yelled, throwing her  
hands in the air and turning away. She took a seat in one of the  
chairs in front of his desk and looked down at her nails, smiling she  
said smugly. "Besides we have more important things to talk about.  
I've got another job for you."  
  
Somewhere else Year: 2009  
  
The sun was rising again, why did the sun always have to rise? Why was  
she left here to rot forever wondering how many sun rises and sun sets  
would pass before she would finally die? She had long time ago lost  
track of the years, how long has she been trapped in this living and  
yet nonliving hell? One hundred, two hundred years, it felt so much  
longer. The sun was streaming in now moving closer to where she  
huddled against the wall.  
'Maybe today will be the day it will finally end.' She thought as the  
ray of sunshine moving still closer. She braced herself waiting for  
the searing pain to start burning away the new flesh that had healed  
over the burned the night before.  
And as the sun rose on another beautiful morning in the Inca valley a  
piercing scream sounded through out the valley, frightening sleeping  
birds from their trees and startling all who lived there.  
  
City: New York Year: 2009  
  
"What do you mean by a job? And wipe that look off your face you know  
it creeps me out." He said putting down the old book.  
"Thanks Darien you always know just what to say to a girl to make her  
feel special." Ray said with obvious sarcasm as she glared at the  
ebony haired man in front of her.  
"Yeah, well I do try. Now tell me more about this so call job." Darien  
said adding his own bit of sarcasm. Ray shrugged.  
"Well you see there is this gang of vamps hanging around the south  
side of town, well last night they approached me with some  
information. You see one of them was sired by an old vamp who worked  
for Dracula before he was killed in 1827." Knowing of his fascination  
with vampire lore and the legend of the mysterious vampire count she  
smile smugly as Darien's head came up sharply and she finally had his  
full attention. "Well he said his master told him this story about a  
vampire princess who was locked away in a temple when her father found  
out she'd fallen in love with a human." At this point Darien was  
becoming aware of how familiar this story was beginning to sound, but  
did not have a chance to finish the thought before Ray continued.  
"Well you know how vamps are about power and now that most of the pure  
bloods are gone the vamps are all scrambling for more and the quickest  
way to gain power..."  
"...is to drink the blood of a pure blood." Darien interrupted, with a  
wave of his hand. Every one who knew the slightest thing about the  
vampires knew that the young bloods, which now referred to themselves  
as the vamps, were power hungry troublemakers. Twenty years ago no one  
had even known vampires were real, but then a gang of these renegade  
vamps started to make them selves known. They would kill some of the  
top city officials; attack people out in the open, and basically do  
anything they could to get noticed. When the pure bloods had come to  
stop them, only then did they realize it was all a trap to draw them  
out. More than a hundred vamps ambushed them and a destructive battle  
ensued and anyone left who didn't know about the vamps became aware of  
them. The vamps drank the blood of the pure bloods they had captured  
and became stronger, only now it was like every vamp had drunk a pure  
bloods blood and became as powerful as a pure blood, only they lacked  
the control and rigid guidance Dracula's rule had taught them. The  
pure bloods were out numbered and one by one they were hunted down and  
destroyed, but that left the vamps with no ruler and so another war  
broke out this time a civil war, between the vamp gangs. Their quest  
for more power would be the only reason for them to want to look for  
this Vampire princess.  
"So this gang of vamps wants us to hunt down this temple and find the  
princess so they can all drink her blood, killing her but making them  
more powerful?" Darien asked already knowing the answer. "Not a  
chance. That's just what we need more super powered vamps running  
around killing each other and everyone who gets in the way of their  
insane quest for power. What are you thinking Ray?" Darien stared at  
her as he got up from behind his desk. "No." he said shaking his head.  
"Its best if we just leave things the way they are."  
"Their willing to pay us one hundred thousand dollars cash." Ray said  
smugly as she heard Darien swear. "Half now and half after we deliver  
the princess."  
"And if there is no princess or she's already dead then what?" he  
asked as he began to pace the room.  
"We still get to keep the fifty grand." Ray smiled as she watched him  
closely. "Think about it Darien. Fifty grand is a lot of money."  
Darien just glared at her as he ran his fingers threw his hair.  
"Well how are we supposed to find this princess?" He asked still  
glaring at Ray.  
"Well you see..." Ray paused as she tried to look innocent, but still  
not able to hide the sparkle of triumph in her eyes. "...Nobody knows.  
Supposedly there was a map. But it was lost after Dracula was killed.  
That's why these vamps want to hire us in order to find the temple she  
was locked away in."  
"Well then how are we supposed to find it?" He asked angrily. Ray just  
smiled her best smile at him.  
"Well I thought between your contacts, Amy's brains for finding  
things, and my information gathering skills, I'd say we have a good  
chance in finding the temple." she said sweetly, fluttering her  
eyelashes at Darien.  
"You really think..." he asked skeptically. "Amy is going to help you  
find a missing vampire princess so you can hand her over to those  
misfits to be killed. Not going to happen. And I will not let you put  
that on her conscience." He said scowling as he walked back over to  
his desk and sat back in his chair.  
"You have to ask her Darien. Besides I only said they want to kill her  
not that they can, or that will let them." At Darien's puzzled look  
she explained. "This vampire princess is supposed to be the blood  
daughter of Dracula himself. You know what that means don't you?" she  
asked just to draw out the suspense more than the need of an answer.  
"Yeah I know what it means." He said dryly. "It means she was born a  
vampire, which means both her parents were born vampires, and since  
Dracula was the first being over twelve hundred years old at his death  
this princess is probably as strong as or stronger than her father."  
He stated in a monotonous voice.  
"Right. So maybe she's to strong to be defeated but these lower levels  
stalking around the city, she may even be able to get rid of a few of  
the more troublesome vamps." Ray tried to reason. "And beside it could  
be considered a rescue mission since it was said that Dracula was so  
mad at the girl he sentenced her to 'a living hell'." She recited the  
lines dramatically, but with a concerned expression on her face.  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Darien asked rolling his eyes.  
"Well what I got from the story was that after Dracula killed her  
lover he sent her to this mysterious temple, as punishment, there she  
would be tortured everyday and then healed every night only to suffer  
again the following day." Once again with a concerned expression  
sharpening her features, she pressed her lips firmly in a straight  
line, and her eyes darkening to almost purple, but she continued on in  
the same tone of voice not taking notice of the changes in her eyes  
and face as she spoke steadily. Darien looked at her rather  
suspiciously at the changes, as she continues her argument. "It does  
not say how, but there was some nonsense about her never eating or  
seeing another soul in till Dracula sent for her, which he was  
supposed to do ten years later. But he was killed and the only  
vampires who knew her location where killed by Dracula himself, so no  
one would be able to capture her and use her against him." Ray  
shrugged. "Sounds like he thought this through carefully and covered  
all of the bases, except the whole eating thing, I mean wouldn't she  
die. And the fact that he was killed one year before her sentence was  
up leaving nobody to free her." Darien shook his head.  
"No." Darien disagreed. "Keeping her location a secret would make  
sense. A pure blooded vampire is capable of going without nourishment  
for years if they have to, but without it for so long they would go  
insane. Who knows what secrets she could have told in her insanity? He  
wouldn't want anyone to know where she was." He shook his head  
considering his thought. "If he died in 1827 that would mean she was  
locked away in 1818." He was directing his question at Ray but already  
knew the answer. "So that would mean if she was still alive, doubt  
full though it maybe, she's had no nourishment and been tortured  
everyday for almost two hundred years." Feeling frustrated he got up  
and started pacing again his mind working a hundred times a minute.  
"This is unbelievable Ray. If and I mean if she is still alive there's  
no way she is still sane, she'd probably kill us the second we free  
her and then there would be a psychotic super powered vamp loose on  
the streets. This is not a good idea." He stated.  
"But Darien think about her feelings for a moment." At his snickered  
response she shook her head and stood up to look him in the eye. "No  
really Darien, think about it for a minute. If she is still alive she  
is still being put through these torture sessions everyday. We need to  
save her." Ray pleaded. Darien looked shocked. He has never heard her  
speak like this before, she even sounded as if she really was worried  
and concerned for the vampire princess, like she needed to save the  
girl.  
"Why Ray you almost sound like you have a heart." He said placing his  
hand over his heart mockingly. Ray just shrugged.  
"It could happen." She said nonchalantly, but the worry was still in  
her eyes. "Come on Darien its fifty grand and she may not even be  
alive. Well take extra precautions." She pleaded as she saw him  
beginning to give in.  
"Oh alright. I'll ask Amy tonight." He said throwing up his hands as  
Ray cheered. Some where else   
As the sun went down her body still burned from the heat of the day's  
sun. She was alive and already her body was heeling it's self but the  
hunger and need to feed took hold of her senses. She looked around the  
ground around her, the floor is scattered with the carcasses of the  
dead animals that had wondered into her reach. But nothing had  
wandered in for years. She has to find a way to feed and soon, she is  
growing weaker as this torture continues.  
  
  
Well that's chapter one, what did you think was it better or worse? I have also tried my best to adjust the things that have been suggested. - Should have warned you my English was terrible. Where I'm from everyone talks funny and things I hear run into the things I type. So thanks Chen for fixing everything so it's legible.  
  
Bye Angel 


	3. Finding

Immortal Beloved By: Angel Edited By: Chen Chapter Two  
  
New York City: The next day  
  
"Oh we have to save her, Darien. The poor thing, to think of her trapped  
there for so long and all alone too." Amy pouted sympathetically. Darien  
just stared incredulously at the blue haired woman in front of him. At 25  
Amy was very pretty, in a genius kind of way. She had black hair that had  
been recently tinted blue to match her eyes, and a slim build standing  
only 5'4. But with Amy you couldn't let her looks fool you, she was  
definitely the smartest and definitely one of the kindest he'd ever met  
and he is damn lucky to have her as his partner. They had met when she  
had answered an ad he'd run in the local paper for a secretary when he  
decided to open a detective agency five years ago. Since then he'd found  
her to have more helpful skills than answering phones all day, so he'd  
made her a partner and her input in the agency and her skills in the  
world of the paranormal had been invaluable.  
"Well how are we supposed to find her? I mean there are no maps and  
nobody who could tell us where she was sent." Ray asked from her seat on  
the lounge chair in Darien's office.  
"Well I could try running a check on all of the temples on record built  
before 1818." Amy said already switching on her computer, which sat on a  
desk on the opposite side of the room from Darien's own.  
"That's a great idea Amy." Darien nodded snapping out of his reverie as  
he moved to follow Ray to stand behind the petite girl. "Don't you guys  
find it odd that there are no written stories or any story at all about  
this vampire princess? I mean you hear stories about Dracula all the  
time, and even some of the better-known pure bloods. But this one girl  
there's nothing, only legend." Darien asked as he watched the screen  
displaying numerous search pages.  
"Maybe Dracula wanted it that way, like you said so nobody would search  
for her and try to use her against him. Or maybe he was just too ashamed  
of her." Ray stated with a shrug trying to sound unconcern, hoping  
neither of her companions would notice her apprehensions of the search  
for the vampire princess.  
"Hey guys we have a problem." Amy interrupted. "According to my searches  
there are over four hundred temples built before 1818 on record. I'll  
need more information if I'm going to narrow it down." Amy stated looking  
back at her partner and friend.  
"Try searching abandoned temples built before 1818." Ray said as she  
turned to meet Darien's confused eyes. "Well the legends say she was  
alone, and back then vamps were still keeping themselves on the down low  
so Dracula couldn't have put her in a convent, if she killed them all it  
would have drawn suspicion." Ray pointed out logically. Darien shrugged  
but Amy had already returned to her keyboard and was typing a mile a  
minute.  
"One hundred seventeen, we are getting closer but I still need more  
information." Amy stated shaking her head again. "If you could tell me a  
name or what the temple was built to honor I might be able to narrow it  
down some more." She asked as both she and Darien looked at Ray.  
"Umm... well I'm not sure. I think I remember there was something about the  
sun, but I can't remember whether it was part of the name or whatever."  
Ray stated as she tilted her head to the side to think. Darien looked at  
her quizzically for a moment but then turned a questioning stare on Amy.  
"Well I might be able to go on that." Amy said with a smile. "I'll run  
that check and then I'll run a check to see which of the remaining  
temples are still standing." She was typing again and as she ran the last  
check a file popped up. "Well this is good news. Out of the four hundred  
we began with I have narrowed it down to two. One is a temple built to  
honor the sun god of an ancient race, and the other is a temple built by  
a religious cult called the worshipers of the sun." Amy said as she hit  
the print button to print the information on each temple. Slipping both  
packets in to manila file folders she handed one to Darien and the other  
to Ray. "I'll make the arrangements with the airlines and any other  
things you might need. Be ready to leave at five a.m. tomorrow morning,  
good luck guys." Amy said sweetly. Place: Ruins of Incan city, Peru Year: 2009 (later that same week) 'Why oh why did I get stuck with the stupid pyramid?' he asked himself as he dragged himself up the side of the 235-foot high temple. The heat of the day had been severe and he was thanking whatever deity would listen, that the dessert sun was finally going down. Although it did not do much for the humidity and it might not be any better if there was a psychotic vampire on the loose. Deciding to take a break he sat down on one of the steps and pulled out his canteen and drank a long gulp of warm water, grimacing at the temped taste which didn't help his dreadful thirst any, he quickly put the cap back on and put it aside. He sat there for a few minutes resting and admiring how quiet it was here when he noticed it was not just quiet it was eerily quiet, there were no bird chirping or animals around, it was creepy. 'Well.' He thought, 'Might as well find out what's at the top of this thing.' He put his canteen away and picked up his pack again and started for the top of the Temple. Forty-five minutes later he reached the top and was marveled by the artistry and design of the temples prayer room. It was a rectangular room with one door directly in front of him and plenty of large windows lining the font and sides of the room; only the back was left in shadows. He didn't hear anything as he entered the temple. In the fading sunlight the place was incredibly creepy with eerily moving shadows in the far corners of the room. As he glanced around he saw what looked like the remains of dead birds and animals lying on the floor. "Maybe I'm in the right place after all." He mumbled to himself, as he was stepping carefully over a particularly large skeleton of some sort of bird, when he heard a noise. 'What was that?' he asked himself. He'd heard a slight clanking sound, like metal on stone. He glanced around trying to locate the noise but saw nothing, so he listened harder; there he heard it again quickly turning around he came face to face with a young girl. Was she the princess? She stood in the shadows for a moment just staring at him and then she lunged at him, her teeth bared, her hands spread out to grab him. He fell to the floor while trying to avoid her, he sat there waiting for something to happen, but when nothing did he glanced up to see that the only thing that had stopped him from becoming food was the tarnished gold chains wrapped around each wrist. Just then a stray beam from the setting sun caught her cheek and she let out a shriek and ran back to the darkest corner, huddling herself up in to a ball. He sat there for a moment, but wanting a better look at her he moved forward being careful to stay in the slowly disappearing sun light. Her skin was pale even by vampire standards her hair was dirty and limp and hung clear to her calves in tangles. She was covered in only a torn piece of cloth probably once part of a dress; it was tied over one shoulder and around the waist, and hung in tatters to her thighs. There were burn marks covering her skin and makeshift dress. He figured this is what Dracula meant by torture. She'd been left here to slowly incinerate to death, he almost felt sorry for the girl. "Have you come to kill me?" the softly voice question was spoken in a harsh unused voice the shock of it coming from such a small girl broke him from his thought. He looked at the small girl again and although he knew she was much older, she barely looked seventeen, and he felt a rush of pity for the poor girl. "No I haven't come to kill you." He stated softly, not taking his eyes away from her. "I've come to release you, after you have promised to not kill me first." The last part was mumbled. The girl looked confused. "Has my father sent you? Has he finally forgiven me? How many years have passed?" she rattled off questions quicker than he could answer them. "No I've not been sent by your father, he's dead." "Dead he cannot be dead. That is impossible." She nearly screeched. "I'm afraid it's not princess. You've been here nearly two hundred years. That is why no one has come for you. Dracula was killed nine years after you were imprisoned here." He stated as he glanced up to note the suns position in the sky, he figured he had about another five minutes before the sun disappeared completely. "Two hundred years, oh my poor Endymion what has become of you?" she asked herself quietly. Darien stared at her for a moment. 'Where have I heard that name before?' he asked himself. The rumbling of his stomach slowly pulled him back from his thoughts, which reminded him that he himself had not eaten since breakfast, and that would have been at least seven or eight hours ago. Looking back at the huddled girl he thought she was probably hungrier than he had ever been in his life, who knows how long it's been since she's eaten. Glancing around at the dried skeletons and carcasses littering the ground he figured she'd probably managed to stay alive by consuming the local wildlife that had wandered in to her vicinity and within her reach. "Are you hungry?" he asked although he knew it was a stupid question, and at her hopeful look he felt even worse about asking, like a bully stealing candy from a baby. Using the last rays of sunlight he dug around in his pack for the extra canteen he'd brought filled with blood. It was only pig's blood but it would have to do. Carefully he slid it across the stone floor to her and watched as she scrambled to pick it up and struggled hurriedly with the cap. Darien watched as she tried to get the cap off several times before taking pity on her and cautiously moving forward to take the canteen from her shaking hands, her eyes were wild as she watched his hands as he removed the cap and handed it back to her moving back a few steps from her. Trembling she drank it down swiftly a few drops escaping to run trailing down her chin, she caught them with her fingers and then licked them clean and then used her fingers to seek out any drops she might have missed. He watched as the much-needed nourishment now in her system began to heel some of the burns on her body, although the worst of them remained, and an almost healthy color came to her skin. "Got anymore?" she asked as she crawled on her hands and knees toward him. He knew what she was doing, but he had training to fight the spell she was weaving. "No." he said calmly as he moved out of her reach. Sensing that she wasn't going to be able to use her much weakened powers on him she pouted. "I won't take it all." She said as she stuck out her bottom lip like a petulant child. Darien didn't believe her for a moment. She was starving and he'd seen vamps lose control and suck a person dry when they weren't even half as hungry as she was. "You don't believe me." She pouted. "Can't very well kill you, if I do how am I going to get out of here? You said you are going to release me." "Doesn't matter, Ray my partner will bring you some more food, but first I have to reach her." With that he started digging through his pack again, finding his phone he walked outside to find good reception. Ten minutes later he hung up from speaking to Amy. She'd told him Ray had already checked in and said her lead was a dead end so she was already on her way to his location, and Amy was sending the transportation equipment by overnight mail to a hotel in the capital were Ray would pick it up tomorrow evening. This meant he was stuck here with a starving vampire till the day after next. With a sigh he headed back inside to face his demon. "Ok princess here's the deal." He said walking toward her with a purposeful stride but stopping just out of her reach. "My partner won't be able to get here in till the day after tomorrow and since I have no interest in staying the night with a blood starved vamp, if you give me your word you'll stop when I say I'll share as long as you don't start thinking of me as a food source." He stated in a monotonous voice. "You have my word; I shall stop when you say." She said calmly her eyes boring into his as her canines extended in anticipation. Hunching down he reach again in his bag and pulled out a wooden stake, he looked up as he heard a hissing coming from the back of the room only to find the girl had moved farther away from him. "You lied." She stated watching him intensely. "You have come here to kill me." Glancing at the stake in his hand he shook his head, denying her claim. "This is merely for an emergency. As long as you keep your word you have nothing to fear from me." He said putting the stake in his pocket for easy access. He rolled up the sleeve of his shirt as he approached her to reveal the veins on his arm. He could almost see the anticipation and hunger written across her face as she watched him, and he hoped he wasn't making a huge mistake. He knelt down on the floor beside her and held up his arm to her lips. She glanced up into his eyes as she lightly took hold of his wrist and upper arm. She pierced the skin with her teeth and felt him flinch slightly. Slowly she began pulling the blood from his arm into her mouth, not taking her eyes away from his. Darien watched as her eyes dilated and her face changed into a look of complete euphoria. Slowly as her eyes began to close, her skin began to glow a soft pink with health and the remaining burns healed themselves. He watched for a while letting her take what she needed from him, but he'd become so mesmerized by these changes in her that he hadn't noticed he was becoming light headed. He needed to stop her. He put his hand on her shoulder and started to pull his arm away, as he did her eyes opened and once again connected with his as she slowly pulled her teeth from his arm but kept a hold of his arm and gently licked away the last of the blood that came to the surface of his skin. Darien shivered with pleasure at the feel of her tongue, but swiftly pulled his arm away. "You're a mortal." It was a statement more than a question, so Darien didn't answer. "Who sent you to help me? Who are you working for?" she asked her eyes narrowing as she glared at him. "Surely no vampire would send a mortal to save me. Your kind should never even know about us." She stated agitatedly. "The world has changed princess." Darien said shaking his head and glancing away stood up to moved away from her. "The mortal world changes, vampire laws are forever. Tell me who is responsible for this and I shall kill them." She threatened her voice growing husky and her k-nines extended as she let out a soft growl. Darien was frightened for only a moment before he remembered she was still chained to the wall. Shaking his head he tried to calm her down. "Calm down princess, if those vampires hadn't sent me after you, you would probably still be trapped here." Darien stated. "In case you haven't noticed I am not exactly free yet, I'm still chained to this damn wall." She yelled agitatedly. Darien rolled his eyes becoming annoyed. "Well since I have no desire to wake up in the middle of the night and find you sucking every last drop of blood from my neck you'll just have to stay there for a while longer. Ray should be here in a few days so lets just calm down." He stated and watched as she huffed and walked angrily away to sit on the floor in the darkest part of the room. Darien yawned and stretched then glanced down to check his watched, Darien noticed that it was after ten. 'No wander I'm so tired, I've been on the road since four this morning.' Sighing he knelt down and dug out his sleeping bag to spread out on the floor. Sitting down on it he once again began digging threw his bag pulling out some REM's. He proceeded in eating two of them before shoving the rest back into his pack and lying back on the sleeping bag. "I hope you're not still mad in the morning." He whispered as he fell asleep. Wow I know it's been a long time so I hope everyone hasn't forgotten bout this story. I would have posted earlier but some major drama has begun to invade my life and the good and bad fairies r pulling me in to different directions with this story, indecisive little suckers that they are. But anyway Chapter Two is officially finished and I hope I have managed to take all of your suggestions to heart. I would merely like to point out that there is meanness to my madness, just keep reading and answers will pop up. I'll appreciate some feed back, good or bad. Chapter Three is in its final stages but I probably won't post it till the editing begins on Chapter Four, so it may be a while at the rate I'm going. So enjoy and please remember to review. Thanks Angel P.s. Happy Valentines Day 


	4. Explanations

Immortal Beloved

By: Angel

Chapter Three

Place: Ruins of Incan city, Peru Year: 2009

The next morning brought a return of the sun and Darien was awakened a little past dawn by a terrifying scream. He glanced at the far back corner of the room where the noise had come from and found the girl huddled in a fetal position, in the corner of the room. Looking around the room trying to see what had made her scream, he noticed a small shaft of sunlight close to her and followed it up to a small hole that had rotted away in the roof and the thin stream of sunlight that was filtering down threw the hole mere inches away from the poor huddled creature who was unable to move away from it without being burned by one of the many shafts of light filtering threw the decaying walls and ceiling. Noticing the slight burns already on her arms and the really bad one on her leg he assumed she to must have fallen asleep and been awakened by the sun searing her skin. He watched her for a few minutes as she huddled there against the wall trying to shrink farther and farther away from the light. At least that's what he thought at first, as he watched he noticed she kept trying to move farther away because it was moving toward her, as the sun was raising in the sky the small ray of sunlight was moving closer and closer to her across the floor.

Quickly he scrambled up out of his sleeping bag and headed for her dragging it behind him. He reached her and unzipped the bag tossing it completely over her huddled tense form just as the ray of sunlight would have reached her and sighed when she didn't make any sound and another scream was not heard.

"Are you alright princess?" he asked concerned. When he got no answer and there was no sign of movement from under the sleeping bag, Darien cautiously lifted up one end and checked under it. Her small form was still huddled in a fetal position, hugging her knees to her chest, apparently not even realizing she was safe from the sun under the sleeping bag. Carefully Darien reached out and touched the cool skin of her arm.

"It's alright princess." He said quietly so as not to scare her. "You're safe under here." He felt the tension slowly leave her as she realized he told the truth and she was safe.

"My friends call me Serena; I would like you to do the same." she stated without looking up at him. Smiling he lowered the side of the bag and headed over to his pack to grab another R.E.M.

'It seems she has decided to trust me.' He thought to himself as he tore into his packet, a pleasant feeling of contentment filled him as he sat on the floor eating. He busied himself thinking of a way to keep busy during the day, he was not one to sit still for long. Naturally he would have to do something about the sunlight filtering down through the cracks in the old ceiling, after all Ray would not arrive till late tomorrow and what was the point of going to all this trouble to find the princess if he just let her get destroyed when the sun rose tomorrow morning. Plus he felt responsible for her now, he had given her his word that he would save her, he wanted to protect her.

'That was a funny thing to think.' He thought to himself cocking his head to the side in a thoughtful manner as he tried to rationalize that feeling to himself. 'Why should I care about some vamp getting burned up, I have wished much harsher deaths upon some of the vamps back in New York.'

Because he wasn't back in New York where the vamps ruled the city and people were so terrified of leaving there homes that some starved to death. He was here in this crumbling old temple with a poor half starved girl that has suffered greatly at the hands of her own father. She was not apart of the horrible battles and the mass murders happening in New York. She is however the lost princess of the Vampires and maybe the only one that could restore order to the vamp gangs.

His thoughts did raise a difficult question though, how had she lived here alone so long with barely any food and not disintegrate immediately when the suns rays had touched her? He had heard stories of full blooded vamps that were so strong that they could withstand a few minutes in the sunlight and survive, but not without consequence. Most, according to the stories, ended up horribly disfigured or missing limbs. But this one girl half starved and weakened considerably was able to withstand small amounts of sunlight, from what he had seen, and heal perfectly as soon as the sun had gone down, and as far as he had seen there wasn't a scare on her. Finishing off his meal he decided to ask her about it later when he questioned her, and got up to go outside to see what could be done about the walls.

Three hours later Darien stood at the entrance to the temple mopping his brow with his already sodden hanky and looked smugly at his handy work. The far back corner of the room where Serena still huddled under the sleeping bag was now pitch black not a speck of sunlight shown threw anymore. Cautiously he walked up to her and gently began to remove the sleeping bag from over her, only to have it pulled out of his hand.

"What are you doing?" said the frightened girl under the sleeping bag. "It is still day light I can sense it."

"You don't need to worry Serena your safe." He said calmly as he began to lift the blanket again slowly, but once again it was dragged from his hand. Chuckling softly he reached down to lift the corner of the bag and look in at the girl huddled under it. "What is the matter Serena don't you trust me?" he asked looking sincerely into her eyes trying to make her believe him, as he for the third time tried to pull the sleeping bag from over her head. This time she allowed him and he pulled the sleeping bag away to reveal her squinted pale features, and mussed hair. "See nothing to fear." He said calmly though he was amazed she had indeed trusted him, cautiously he sat down next to her.

"That has yet to be seen. I still do not know your reason for searching me out or who sent you." She stated defensively as she looked into his eyes.

"It is a very long story, but I guess I should tell you now that the world really has changed. The human world knows about the Vampires, how could we not?" he commented sarcastically. "The population of the half breed vamps in New York alone is double to that of the humans still living there." He stopped when he heard her gasp.

"How is that possible, haven't the elders been enforcing my fathers laws?" she asked alarmed.

"Well that's part of the problem. The vamps out number the elders fifteen to one; the ones that were not killed in the first battle went into hiding. There are barely any pure bloods left. In fact without your father around to create more you very well might be the last."

"I am not exactly a pure blooded vampire." She stated off-handedly shrugging off his questioning look and somehow managing to stay outwardly calm while her emotions were raging. "But that is not important, you said the half breeds out number the pure bloods fifteen to one. How is that possible? No new vampires are to be created without my father's permission and without him there should be fewer not more vampires in the world and there should never be so many in an area the mortals know of them. What has happened? Who rules the vampires in my fathers place? You must tell me so I can understand what has happened to my kind." She stated anxiously.

"Alright, alright!" he exclaimed trying to calm her anxious questions. "I'll explain everything if you explain your last comment about not being a pure blooded vamp, is it a deal?" He wagered holding out his hand for her to shake.

Glancing from his face to his hand to the veins in his wrist memories of the night before when he had allowed her to feed from him replayed in her mind and as she glanced back to his face she saw in his eyes that he was reliving the memory as well.

Although some of her strength had been returned to her she was still far weaker then she would have been at full strength. And the need to feed was still paramount in her mind. She could taste his blood flowing in her mouth even now and her hunger renewed to the point where her canines elongated and she could feel his pulse pounding in her ears.

Blood creeping into his cheeks from the sight of her he pulled his hand away, feeling like an utter idiot he tucked his hand out of her line of view.

She took a moment to regain her composure and to wonder what he was thinking. But he interrupted her thoughts by rushing into the story of the past twenty years happenings.

Little over an hour later all of her questions had been answered to the best of his knowledge and she now sat quietly next to him on the stone floor of the temple contemplating what would need to be done to save her people from themselves. Things could most defiantly not continue as they have been for the past twenty years, once she was free she would take the thrown as her father had ordained for her. And she would reunite what was left of the pure bloods and restore the laws her father had set for his children. Feeling a tap on her shoulder she snapped back to the present and the man sitting beside her, raising one eyebrow in puzzlement at his disrupting her planning.

"You said you would explain to me about your proclamation that you are not a pure blooded vamp, remember?" he reminded her with a sigh.

"Oh right." She agreed. "Well I'm not really a pure blood, but I am the closest thing to one." She said casually. At his look of disbelief she explained further. "My father was thee only pure blooded vampire, those directly sired by him merely consider themselves pure blooded because that is the closest one can be." She smirked. "Vampires who are born vampires are mutants, created by a mortal gene left over in the half-breeds, but blessed with the gifts of a vampire. True Vampires cannot sire children as mortals do."

"So does that make you a mutant to?" he asked seriously, but the question merely made her laugh.

"Do not compare me to that trash." She stated angrily still trying to regain control of her raging emotions. "They claim they have power because they were born vampire, they have no idea what true power feels like." She said with a sigh as she closed her eyes.

"If you are not a mutant than what are you? You were born a vampire weren't you?" Darien asked seriously.

"I am..." she paused for dramatic effect. "... An enigma." She stated grinning deviously. "I was neither bore nor created. I guess you could say I am truly my father's daughter, for not only do I share his blood but I share his curse." her grin widened to a smile at his reaction. She thought the look of shock and astonishment did not sit well on this oh so smartest of Detectives. "You wish me to explain... yes?" she asked still smiling as Darien could only nod.

"My mother..." she began. "...Was the great Sorceress Mandela of Haven shire she was extremely powerful and very beautiful, but she was also a very jealous woman. She was in love with my father and he with her. They were together for many years, but one day her jealousy got the better of her. You see my father was already married to a woman, a pale lifeless creature with a slow wit. My father was not in love with the woman, their marriage had been arranged by his parents, but he was in need of an heir, so he bedded the silly creature hoping she would conceive quickly so he could placate Mandela by telling her it would never happen again." She stated this part rolling her eyes at the stupidity of the male species. "Honestly I don't understand how he could have thought my mother would take the news well. She was enraged with the passion of his betrayal and placed a curse on him. My mother was a clever woman filled with the need for vengeance and she intended to make my father pay for a very long time. She knew my father most loved life and the living people in his care. It was the simple things he found most pleasure in, village celebrations, and working all day in the fields with his people." Her smile was soft as she wove the romantic tale, but ever so slowly it dimmed to a frown and her forehead creased in thought as she went on. "

"She cursed him..." She paused sighing sadly. "...to suffer through immortality as death itself. Forever dependent on living mortal blood and yet never able to touch the world of the living without tainting it with death, hence the first vampire was created."

"But as I said my mother was clever, so she did not stop there. No she could not have, she wanted revenge from the source of his betrayal as well, so she also placed this curse on any child he should have, that they to should be cursed to live out the same un-life for eternity." She derided. "But my dear mothers curse did not work out the way she had planned, for she did not know it at the time but she had already conceived me. And so here I am before you neither mortal nor immortal. But that is not the end of my story...no not the end." She agreed with herself staring deeply in to his eye and suddenly he felt heaviness in his chest. A deep heavy sense of sadness and regret pressed down on him and pain filled his chest. Automatically he rubbed at the sourced of the pain, which appeared to be his heart, in till she glanced away from him and the pain instantly stopped.

"Forgive me, it has been a very long time since I have used my powers and a few of them are rusty." She stated calmly.

"What did you just do?" he asked astonished. "I've never met a vamp who could do that before." He stated.

"I have already explained to you that I am not like other vampires." She said glaring at him. "And will you please quite referring to my kind by that insulting name." She huffed out indignantly.

"Alright, fine." He agreed. "But you have not explained to me how you are different from other vamps...other vampires." He quickly corrected himself at her glare.

"Oh alright, now where was I? I already told you my father loved my mother and that her curse had backfired. Anyway after she cursed my father he became so angry he lost control and attacked my mother. She would have died then and there if my father hadn't come to his senses and saved her by changing her into one of us. But there were strange consequences, you see his blood already ran threw my veins, when he changed my mother the new infusion of his blood supercharged my mothers and together they ran into me. You see as much as I am my father's daughter I am also my mothers. I am not full pure blooded Vampire, but I am a Sorceress, and with all the powers of both of my parents." She watched amused at his shocked look. "Now do you believe me when I'm different...an enigma?" She stated. "My father was especially proud of my genetic talents." She smiled. "But there was a down side to my birth..."she said her smile faltering. "... for as great as my mother's powers were she was still only a half breed and that combined with the power of her own curse killed her while she brought me into this world." She said and once again Darien could feel a sadness come over him, deciding it was her feelings of loss about her mother he was feeling and he searched for a way to distract her. Deciding the best way was to kill two birds with one stone he began to ask more questions.

"But none of that explains what you are." He stated. "In fact you have contradicted yourself quiet a few times in your story." He countered. Rolling her eyes in exasperation she reached up to push an unruly lock of dirty golden hair from her face.

"Well that is what I am." She stated annoyed. "An Enigma something which can not be explained and yes a contradiction." She reasoned. "I am neither mortal nor immortal because unlike created vampires I do age physically only much slower than mortals. I am not pure blood because my blood is not pure, it is tainted with that of my mortal mothers and though it is the blood of a sorceress and makes me more powerful than those who call themselves pure bloods; because it is there I will never be pure blood." For a moment he sat there staring at her in silence, then shook his head. Figuring he would get no other explanation from her he asked the one question that had remained on his mind since he had arrived at the temple.

"Well princess, if you are so powerful why haven't you used your powers to break the chains and leave this place? Escape somewhere your father would never have found you. Why stay here and starve to death and be tortured every day when the sun rises?"

"There is no such place in existence. My father could have found me anywhere I went. We are linked." She explained. "My powers may be weakened but his would not have been, and where would I go?" she asked sarcastically. "The nearest village is too far to reach in one night and in the weakened state I'm in I'd be lucky to find shelter before the sun rose again in the morning." She stated getting up and glancing threw the temple to the light outside the entrance to the temple. "And besides that there is a curse on these chains." She said calmly holding up the golden manacles, which bound her wrists to the back wall. "They can only be removed by a witch. A witch powerful enough to break the spell placed on these chains by the witch my father commissioned to make them." She said sadly turning to glance at him still sitting against the wall beside her. "Do you know any witch that powerful?" she asked him. When he remained silent she turned away but said quietly. "You understand now why I've never fled."


	5. Ray Arrives

Immortal Beloved 

**By: Angel**

**Chapter Four**

****

Place: Ruins of Incan city, Peru Year: 2009

The following day was just as hot as the previous two as Darien sat at the foot of the temple steps. He had woken earlier that morning to check that the makeshift mud patches he had made the day before to protect Serena from the sun were still holding then feeling the need for fresh air after spending the night and most of the day before inside a room littered with the corpses of various dead animals he grabbed his knife and canteen from his pack and walked down the temple steps. Serena had not said a word to him as she watched him walk away but he was certain she was wondering what he was up to. She was a curious and talkative bundle of energy. He had to wonder how she had manage to keep her sanity trapped here alone all these centuries, but when he had asked her, her eyes had turned nearly black and cold, so cold he had actually shivered, and her only reply had been a harshly muttered "Revenge."

The day before had been a revelation into the intricacies of the old vampire world and he had asked plenty of questions. But there was still so much more she had not told him. She had made no mention of the reason Dracula had placed her here. Nor had she brought up the mysterious Endymion again. She had asked more questions also, about the first attack, which elders had been slain and which might be alive. She had even defended whole heartedly one particular elder she was adamant no half breed vamp could kill. They had even argued about it, but as he had repeated himself many times the vamps had out numbered the elders only some had managed to get away.

"Then I am sure Ralita had been among them." She had said. But he figured she was more trying to convince herself then him.

"Who is Ralita?" he had asked hoping to gain more information.

"Ralita was one of my father's captains. She is a very good friend of mine." She stated emphasizing the present tense for his benefit. But when he had tried to dig deeper she had changed the subject and started asking him about the clans and their leaders. And although he had refused to give her much information on them, now looking back he realized he had given her more information then he had intended. He had wanted to with hold the information about the clans till they had reached New York so she would not get stupid and go off on her own and try to start a fight. It bothered him that she was able to get information out of him so easy.

Lost in though Darien didn't notice he had company till she stood over him at the foot of the temple, her face white and her hands shaking, worry etched into her very posture as she just stood there staring at the top of the ancient temple, where the vampire princess had spent the last two hundred years of her life.

"Ray?"

Hearing a disturbance at the entrance to the temple Serena looked up and instantly felt two hundred years of grief and resentment flood threw her system. Hate fueled her as she surged to her feet and growled at the woman standing there. Time had passed and her hair was shorter and she dressed differently then the last time they had spoken face to face but this face was one Serena would never forget.

"Traitor!" She hissed as she moved toward the woman frozen in the entrance like a deer caught in the headlights of an on coming car. "You would dare to come here and face me after everything that you have done?"

"Serena, please let me explain." Ray asked holding out her hands toward the vampire princess pleadingly.

'They know each other?' Darien asked himself, shocked by what he was witnessing.

"Explain!" Serena exclaimed. "Explain what? How you betrayed me and helped my father put me here." She spat venomously as she stopped in front of Ray, the chains binding her wrists allowing her to go no farther into the sun lightened room.

"What the hell is going on here?" Darien shouted as he was finally able to overcome his shock. "You two know each other." He stated pointlessly, before snapping. "How the hell do you two know each other? And what the hell did you mean when you said Ray put you here Serena?" he asked glancing from one girl to the other.

Ray looked guilty and uncomfortable, Serena like she would attack Ray at any moment. Her emotions in control of her again, built up rage had elongated her canines and made her eyes wild. He waited impatiently for an answer but when it didn't seem like one was coming he turned to his partner.

"Ray." He stated authoritatively. Ray glanced up at him looking even more troubled then she had when she arrived at the foot of the temple.

"She's my little sister Darien." She stated sadly and flinched when she heard the quick indrawn breath that followed her statement. "We share the same mother." She continued. "I was six when our mother and Serena's father met, it was ten years later that Serena was conceived and our mother's jealousy cursed Dracula. I am not a vampire like her and do not share the curse, but I am sorceress and immortal by the blood of our mother."

His mind was whirling with that piece of news, but as he looked back little pieces of information and nuances he had uncovered about Ray started to make sense. Her obsessive need to find the lost princess, her uncanny knack at gathering information, it was all starting to make sense. But one thought stuck out in his mind. Ray was immortal.

"You are no sister of mine Rayna." Serena growled again interrupting his thoughts. "You betrayed me. No true sister would betray the other." She said accusingly, staring coldly and Ray.

"I know Sere." Ray stated her head hanging pitifully. "And I am so sorry. I thought I was only doing what was best for you."

"You thought this was what was best for me?" she retorted harshly. "I trusted you with my secret Rayna. I trusted you with my life, I trusted you with Endymion's life." The last was said softer but with no less accusation.

'That name again.' Darien thought as he stood back to take in the scene playing its self out before him. Slowly he was putting all the pieces together.

"He was mortal Serena." Ray shouted "He would have grown old and sick and then he would have died and you would have had your heart broken. I just did not want to see that happen."

"And you thought this was a better idea." Serena yelled back as she held up her small wrists still bound by the golden shackles. Ray's face went white.

"I didn't know Serena." Ray said her voice coming out pitifully small. "Please believe me I didn't know that those chains were meant for you. I didn't know this was what he had in mind. If I had..." she said shaking her head as her voice faded away.

"If you had known dear sister, that your betrayal would curse me to this hell would you not have gone to my father." Serena asked watching Ray sharply for any reaction. But when ray said nothing she continued. "I would not believe you no matter what your answer now. Too much time has past, to many years."

"Please Serena. You have to understand I never wanted this to happen to you. It was only after you were sent away and Endymion had been imprisoned that I understood your connection." Ray said and watched as Serena raised an eyebrow at her questioningly. "I thought at first that it was merely infatuation, but I had a vision." Serena's eyes widened at the news but she said nothing and Ray continued. "The vision, it came to late to stop your father from sending you away but I was able to help Endymion."

"How?" Serena asked with a narrow eyed look at Ray. "What became of him? What horrible end did your betrayal bring him?"

"His end was not horrible Sere. I was able to sneak in to the dungeon at night and use one of our mothers spells to send his soul into the future to be reincarnated He was supposed to remember everything of his former life and look for you, but something went wrong." She stated sadly and Serena's whole body tensed in an attempt to still her self against the news of her lover's fate. "He is alive." Ray hastened to assure her. "But I have not been able to find him in all this time and I do not believe his memories remain intact." She said sadly. "I was not strong enough to complete the spell, but I had hoped by saving him that you would be able to find it in your heart to forgive me." She said looking at Serena hopefully.

Serena was silent for a moment before she sneered at Ray before she gave her reply. "For two hundred years the only thing keeping me from insanity was the thought of taking my revenge upon you, for trapping me here, for taking Endymion from me, for destroying my life." She growled glaring at Ray. "I will not forgive you Rayna. Not even with my dieing breath." Her declaration came out in a harsh whisper that had Ray flinching. There was silence for as the two sisters just stared at each other their eyes communicating there feelings, one set blue the other violet, one angry the other sad.

Visibly swallowing Ray began to speak ending the intense silence. "I am afraid revenge against me will have to wait sister." she stated sadly. "There is a much bigger threat and you have a much bigger enemy then me. You are the only one left that is strong enough to beat the betrayer."

"What are you talking about?" Serena demanded wide eyed. Her anger toward her sister drowned out by her confusion and worry and slowly her eyes and teeth became normal again.

"Your father's murderer was mortal." Ray stated calmly.

"Impossible!" Serena huffed crossing her arms questioningly. "You expect me to believe a mere mortal was able to get past my fathers guard and kill him in his sleep."

"Van-Helsing was no mere mortal." She corrected. "He knew about the vampires, he knew there secrets, and their weaknesses. He had been hunting and killing vampires for years after you were sent away. He became a terrifying figure in the minds of the young not yet strong enough to defend themselves. Dracula called all of his elders for a meeting to try to find away to find and destroy him but he was always able to avoid capture. Eight years he was hunted before one night he was able to get past the guards and get into your fathers chambers. Ralita blamed herself for his death but it was not her fault. Van-Helsing was only able to get within a hundred yards of your father because someone let him in." Ray replied bitterly. "One of ours let him in Serena."

"My father was betrayed by one of his children, is that what you're saying?" Serena asked taken aback at the suggestion.

Ray nodded. "I do not know who it was that betrayed him but I do know it is one of the leaders of the four gangs that rule New York."

"This would mean it would have to be an old one." She turned to look at Darien. "You told me the old ones had scattered and went into hiding. You said nothing of them playing ring leader of these ...vamp gangs." She said disgustedly.

"Don't look at me princess this is all news to my ears. As far as I know none of the gang leaders are even older then a few decades. Besides I was told we were hired to find you by one of the vamp gangs and paid fifty grand up front with another fifty on delivery."

"The money was mine." Ray admitted. "There is no vamp gang waiting and no fifty thousand either. I came to work with you Darien to learn about you, to see if I could trust you to help me find my sister." She gave him an apologetic look. "I had no intention of jeopardizing her life anymore then it already has been. I hired you under false pretences to find her; I do not think there are any of the old vampires left that remember Serena. There are so few left though."

"Never mind all this." Serena said in a frustrated tone. "It grows late and Rayna you must rest if we are to leave tonight for your ...New York." She said letting the unfamiliar name roll off her tongue before she held up her wrists the gold chains dangling between them. "But first you will release me from these loathsome chains." She ordered.

Ray nodded and moved to place her hand on the gleaming metal. Concentrating for a moment her hand started to glow and she mumbled a few unintelligible phrases and with that the chains fell to the floor.

It happened before Darien or even Ray could react. Freed from her chains Serena attacked Ray and with unbelievable speed had her in a neck lock and had dug her teeth fiercely into the tender flesh of her neck. A painful gasp was the only sound Ray made before she closed her eyes and submitted to the drugging sensations of the blood leaving her body.

"Serena." Darien said gingerly as he moved hesitantly closer in order to help Ray. 'Maybe it was a bad idea to have released Serena.' He thought as he placed his hand gently on Serena's arm. As if coming out of a trance her eyes cleared and she pulled her teeth from Ray's neck.

"Relax Darien I still need her to much to kill her just yet." She said with a cocky smile. "Besides now she knows what shall happen to her if she should betray me again." She said the last while glaring at Rays limp body still held in her arms, before she pushed her toward Darien's out stretched arms and moving off toward the back of the temple and the safety of complete darkness.


	6. New York

Immortal Beloved

By: Angel

Chapter Five

New York City 2009

They traveled by night through the mountains, stopping in a small town to buy Serena some decent clothes to replace what was left of her tattered dress, they caught a plane from Cuzco to Mexico City where they were forced to stop at a hotel for the day. After the sun had gone down that night Serena left them sleeping in the room and headed out to feed, the blood she had taken form her sister the day before had restored all of her strength but after starving for so long she had no desire to waste any opportunity to feed. She still felt weak. Well not weak exactly... different. It was as though her body had dramatically out grown the power she was used to wielding. She had gone through power surges growing up where her power had increased within a short amount of time but never as much as it had since the last time she was really able to expend her energy enough to use her powers. While walking through town looking for the unlucky person that would soon be her meal she experimentally turned her gaze to a pile of garbage lying along the backstreet, it took barely a thought to have the pile bursting into flames and startling Serena who watched opened mouth as the pile incinerated. The last time she had tried to use her pyrokenetic abilities she had barely been able to make a candles wick smoke with the amount of effort she had just put into incinerating the garbage. Curiously she tried another trick. This time setting her sights on a beaten up carriage shaped hunk of metal, Darien had referred to as a car that was abandoned on the street, once again with barely a flick of her wrist the metal lifted into the air and floated there as if it was as light as a feather. Laughingly pleased with herself Serena moved off down the street happy with her newly acquired strength, and as she rounded the corner a block away the car still hovering in the air slammed back to earth in a bone crushing smash.

It was two more days before they reached New York and nearly dawn when they exited the terminal and headed for baggage claim.

"We have to hurry." Ray said. "We have already lost an hour crossing the time zone and it's going to be morning soon, we need to find a safe place for Serena to hide till we can make it back to your place."

"Maybe we should rent a car?" Darien mumbled as he searched for their bags.

"There is no need, for if I am not mistaken that is a friend of your heading our way." Serena stated intensely staring at a short blue hair girl looking to be not much older then her own appearance, which was walking toward them swiftly.

"Amy?" Darien asked when he too spotted her; he glanced curiously at Serena before turning back to the blue haired girl. "How did you know when we would be arriving?" he questioned when she had neared them.

"Give me some credit Darien." Amy said slightly offended. "Any hacker worth their salt would be able to track your credit card and find out what flights you had booked onto, after that it was simple to get the arrival dates and times."

"Of course it was." Darien stated blushing slightly as Serena giggled from behind him.

"I think I like your partner Darien." Serena stated smiling. "She is very amusing for a mortal." Amy blushed as well as she glanced at the girl she was certain was the vampire princess of Ray's story. Glancing over the Beautiful blonde Amy checked for any visible sign of illness, mental or physical. There were none noticeable; in fact the girl looked incredibly healthy for someone who had spent the last two hundred years locked in a temple, even for a vampire. Her long blonde hair reaching to her calves, clean now thanks to a shower and the wonder of modern conveniences, hung down her back like a silk curtain and shined like the sun. Her skin though extremely pale glowed with health and her smile reflected pure mischief.

"Well it is very nice to meet you to your majesty." Amy said kindly as she bowed slightly before addressing Ray and Darien again. "The car is in the underground parking lot and I have had the windows treated with the special sealer to block out the sunlight but it is my suggestion that we leave there are still some vamps out wondering around even this late."

"Right lets move." Darien said as he took Serena's arm protectively and led the way out of the building.

"Sister! What do you mean she is your sister?" Amy bellowed as she faced Ray sitting in the back seat beside Serena, who was gazing out the window with a child like fascination at the buildings and people walking the streets, safely now that the sun was fully up.

"It's like I said." Ray said frustrated. "She is my little sister."

"Half sister." Serena pointed out nonchalantly, not looking away from the window. "We share the same mother, one that I never met, and you may be immortal, but that does not mean you are my equal." Ray rolled her eyes.

"It has been a long time since we have sparred sister." Ray said gratingly. "I have improved and then some." A sly smile crossed Serena's face as she continued to stare increasingly more absorbed by the happenings outside the car. Amy closed her eyes with a sigh and rubbed her hand across her forehead to sooth away some of the stress she was feeling and looked back at Ray.

"Ok, let's try this again shall we? Explain everything straight from the top." She ordered as the car continued down the road and Ray started again to explain to Amy everything she had already explained to Darien on their long trip back to New York from South America.  
Darien's mind was obviously on other matters as he drove through the city only half listening to Ray explaining to Amy the whys and how's, with Serena occasionally adding her two cents worth in. Something Serena had said back at the temple had stuck with him for some reason and he knew the answer was in that old journal at his office. So when they reached the apartment come office twenty minutes later Darien parked the car in the garage removed his and Ray's bags from the trunk and moved toward the elevator with Serena bringing up the rear, glancing around trying to take in her surroundings. They rode the elevator to the fifth floor and then headed down the hall to apartment D5. Super natural Investigations, was written in bold letters across the door Darien unlocked, and being the gentleman that he is allowed the women to proceed him in to the main room before closing and locking the door, then walking down the hall past the girls and into the library where he proceeded to find some answers.

Darien was throwing books left and right over his shoulder twenty minutes later when Amy came in to the library.

"Darien what are you doing? Have you gone insane or something?" Amy yelled as she stormed across the room toward him, dodging books along the way.

"She said Endymion." He said still not looking up from where he was scattering more book to the floor.

"What?" Amy asked confused. Darien paused what he was doing for a moment to look down at her.

"When I first got to her she thought I was one of Dracula's men come to kill her. When I told her that I wasn't she asked how many years had passed. She got very upset when I told her it was almost two hundred, and she mumbled a name to herself. She said Endymion." He stated the last part as he started plowing more books from the shelves. "Where the hell did I put it?" he mumbled to himself.

"Put what?" Amy yelled as she bent and started to pick up the carelessly strewn books. "And so what if she mumbled crazily to herself, she was blood starved and nearly insane from hunger, it could just be a word she made up. It does not sound English to me." Amy asked growing angrier because she could not get a strait answer from him and that he was making such an awful mess of her favorite place.

"It is a name. A mans name." He stated shaking his head as he pulled a last book from the bottom shelf and opened the cover to scan the pages. "She said it again after Ray arrived. Apparently this guy Endymion had something to do with why Serena was locked away in that temple. Yes. I found it." He exclaimed, as he started flipping though the pages of the book.

"Found what?" Amy yelled.

"Lord Duke Endymion Warwick, sixth Duke of Windsor." Darien stated excitedly as he moved around Amy, who was still gathering up her prized books, to sit at his desk. "I bought this book at a bazaar on my trip to Madagascar a while back, remember?" he asked but didn't wait for her to answer. "I was reading it the day Ray came to tell me about the job of locating the missing princess? Well anyway, this book is really a journal written by this guy, Lord Endymion, in the last entry I read before I left he talked about this girl he had met, her name was Serenity and she was the Daughter of a count." He was babbling the story out as he flipped the pages, till he came to one and carefully removed and unfolded a yellowing piece of paper.

"And your point is?" Amy asked even more irritated when Darien smiled.

"This is my point." He said holding up the faded picture of the beautiful woman he had found in the book earlier that week. Amy's mouth opened in shock as she stared at the picture.

"But that's Serena!" she exclaimed.

"How many times do I have to say I am sorry before you will let me explain?" Ray demanded losing control of her temper as she stormed across the room to glare at her unshakable sister. It was unnerving to see her little sister who had always been driven by her emotions, staying so calm even when faced with Ray's fiery temper.

"Calm down Rayna." Serena stated. "There are more important matters to deal with, matters with which I will need your help." Serena faced Ray calmly letting no emotional show on her face. "Now tell me sister, who is left? Of my father's advisors and his guards, those loyal to him, who is left?" Ray stared at her sister for a second knowing now that the calm was just a façade to prepare herself to face the blow she was about to be dealt. Taking a big breath Ray plunged straight into the truth.

"It's bad Sere." She said. "Mina was one of the first captured, because she was of Dracula's blood. I don't know if she is still alive, but it is doubtful." She stated sadly. "Ralita disappeared in the middle of a battle five years ago, whether she has gone underground or also been capture I don't know." Shaking her head Ray continued on. "I know of five of your father's generals and three of the nobles loyal to him are alive and I know where they are hiding. I have been in communication with them and they know about my mission to free you, and they are all behind you Serena. They will fight for you."

Wow this chapter was so hard to write. And it wasn't like I had writers block it was just that nothing flowed right. Doesn't that just drive you nuts? You know exactly what you want to say but can't figure out how to say it. Well I hope the next chapter comes easier and I hope I have the time to write. I have been working so much recently I haven't had anytime to do anything. Summer vacation....yeah right. Well I hope you guys liked this chapter. Let me know if I'm doing a good job...k

C ya next time

Angel


	7. The Research

Immortal Beloved

By: Angel

Chapter Six

New York City 2009

"Eight. She questioned. "From my father's great line you are telling me there are only eight left?" incredulously she jumped up from the couch and stormed across the room the window.

"How could this happen? How could these half breed vamp spawns spring up from no where with enough strength to wipe out my fathers followers?" she demanded in a harsh voice as she moved away from the window and began pacing around the room in her agitation.

"They were organized." Ray tried to explain.

"The first attack was planned out in detail years before it was carried out, and when it finally happened there were too many of them for our side to come out victorious. They had years to build up there army. Polluting every blood line by turning all the street whores, drug dealers, and junkies they could without bringing attention to themselves." disgust obvious in Ray's tone sat calmly on the couch but followed her sister around the room with her eyes.

"They had a leader." Serena stated her anger showing on her face and in her mannerism. "They had a leader; those mindless half breeds could not have come up with such an intricate plan." She denied vehemently. "No. My father's murderer is behind this." She said clenching her fists and glaring out the small sun treated window in the room into the gleaming sun filled sky of midday.

"You are right of course, but how do we reach the leader? And how do we find out who the real leader is since there are four gangs, it could be any of their leaders?" Ray asked.

Frustrated and suddenly over come with sadness Serena closed her eyes and leaned her head against the protective glass looking fully defeated. There was a pain in her chest, a dull ache of loss that stole her strength ad sapped her of her power. Endy, her father, her friends and family all of them were gone, lost to her forever.

"I shall have to consider all the options and make a plan, but first I wish to be alone. You are dismissed." She stated calmly with a wave of her hand not bothering to turn and face her sister.

Usually Ray would take offence at being dismissed like a lower level flunky but the look of strain creasing her younger sister's brow the tension in her stance and the air of sadness about her, immediately dispelled her need to argue and she left quietly closing the door behind her.

"So you think the guy that wrote this journal is the same Endymion Serena mentioned before?" Amy asked holding up the book in question. "The same Endymion that was the cause of Ray's betrayal and the same one she sent into the future to be reborn." The doubtful look that crossed Amy's face instantly had Darien on the defense.

"I know it sounds crazy." he began.

"Oh it sounds more then crazy." Amy stated.

"But think about it..." Darien went on as if Amy had not interrupted him. "... you said yourself Endymion is an unusual name. Plus there is the time frame and the mention of Dracula."

"Ok, but that does not mean there was not another one around the same time frame as Serena's imprisonment, and besides the name written in that book is Serenity not Serena." Amy said rolling her eyes. "Besides it would have to be one hell of a coincidence for the same Endymion's journal to end up here."

"Princess Serenity Mandela Dracula the first is her full title, but she was dubbed Serena by her father when she was a child and only those closest to her called her by that name." Ray said as she entered the room. "Endymion was never around her family to learn of the affectionate nickname." She said as she approached Amy and took the worn journal from her and thumbed through the pages for a moment before looking back up at Amy. "And I do not believe in coincidence."

"So then Darien was right and the Endymion that wrote the journal is the same one Serena was in love with?" Amy asked in disbelief. "Imagine it winding up here in Darien's hands just before going on the mission to find Serena. Why the probability would be astronomical." Amy stated already silently calculating the figures in her head.

"It is strange." Ray stated turning to look puzzled at Darien who was sitting behind his desk. "I placed a spell on this journal just incase something went wrong with my spell, which it did." Ray reminded.

"The journal was a precaution in case Endymion's memory did not return like it was supposed to. It was to find him and when he read it help him remember who he was and save Serena. That it would wind up here with you Darien is puzzling." Ray stated suspiciously as she approached the desk and laid the journal upon it in front of Darien.

"You think Darien might be Endymion, right?" Amy asked as she to approached Darien looking at him as if looking for a glimpse of the long dead man.

"Hmmmmm ... It is possible." Ray stated considering. "Tell me Darien have you been having any strange dreams, flashes of another time, or an over powering sense of déjà vu?" Ray asked as she leaned casually against the desk.

"Do not be ridiculous." Darien countered standing abruptly to face the two women before him. "I am not some reincarnation nor am I a vampire lover." He denied hostilely.

"Trust me mortal, the sentiment is reciprocated." Serena said stiffly glaring from the doorway where she had over heard the tail end of his last statement. "Never the less I have tolerated your presence I merely ask you to do the same for me till I can reclaim my thrown and remove myself from your residence." She said as she came in to sit primly on the sofa along the far wall of the office.

Properly put in his place and feeling like a heel Darien sat back down and faced the vampire princess. "Forgive me your highness I meant no offense."

"Never mind we have more important matters to speak of then your dislike of me and my kind." She said coldly looking away.

She would never show if but she had taken offense at his statement but she did not understand why the words of a pathetic mortal even a handsome one, should bother her.

'Handsome? Where had that thought come from?' she asked herself silently.

"You have a plan then?" Ray asked her sister taking not of her sudden distraction,

"Yes." she confirmed with a little shake of her head to clear her thoughts. "But first I need to know more of the gangs and there leaders." She said glancing at Amy who was now sitting quietly in one of the chairs facing the desk quietly taking stock of the people in the room.

"Right. Let me just gather my notes." She said as she left the room hurriedly to return not a minute later with her arms piled high with binders, folders and files, setting them down on the table in front of the sofa. Ray and Darien came over as well taking the two chairs facing the sofa while Amy sat next to Serena.

"This is all the information I could gather on the clans their lineage and hierarchy." She explained.

"Well Lady Mercury, gatherer of information, will you tell me what you have learned." Serena said smiling slightly at her own joke as she handed Amy the first file.

"Oh. Well of course." Amy said blushing at the compliment paid her by this powerful woman beside her. She was only a little bit intimidated by her but she was beginning to be able to relax more with her and even like her.

"The first and second largest gang is the Atrox, named after an ancient religious order that worshipped blood. They run the South part of town."

"Out worldly they look like your average run of the mill street gang except for a strange marking on their left cheeks, a triangle with two lines under it and two dots under those. I do not know the meaning."

"It's an ancient vampiric sign for blood." Serena informed casually as she looked over Amy's shoulder.

"Oh." Amy said as she began searching for a pen to add that to her notes. "Any way the leader of Atrox is Draft, created in the early nineteen hundreds he is a power hungry mercenary type indirectly descended from a eighteenth century French vampire named Phillip. Did you know him?" She asked Serena.

"No he was not of my father's people." She stated but at their puzzled looks she explained. "While all vampires are descended from my father it was common of the many children of the pure bloods to branch off and form other clans with vampires with similar powers and cultures, this was allowed as long as those clans remained loyal to the house of Dracula." She said as she handed Amy the next file.

"Like a witches coven." Darien said comparing the two.

Serena's eyes flashed as she pierced him with a heated gaze meant to flay him alive. His wince made her smile as she turned a cool look to Ray. "Care to defend yourself sister?"

With Darien and Amy's eyes on her she sighed and began the explanation.

"Witches covens were new wave ideas created back round the time of the Salem with trails. Witches are actually solitary crafts women who lived and worked in nature. While the often shared knowledge and spells they only gathered in groups on the solstice and during a lunar eclipse."

"So you see there really is not comparing the two as vampires are extremely social and never share their knowledge." Serena stated looking at Darien with satisfaction.

"Right." Amy interrupted to dispel the tension gathering between the two. "Next are the Creepers." She began. "Mostly made up of the disfigured cast offs from the bigger gangs they are the smallest group and run the eastern part of the city.

They are the least troublesome of the four gangs choosing to stay hidden in shadows rather then engage in battles like the other three, and the other three gangs are usually to busy worrying about what the bigger gangs are up to, to pay any mind to them."

"Their leaders name is Tatum, cast off from his gang when he lost an eye in battle, there are no records of from who he is descended nor of his age." Amy said shaking her head.

"So much for loyalty." Darien said as he glanced at Serena.

"It is in a vampire's nature to admire beauty and shun what is ugly." Serena explained casually ignoring his comment. "Please continue." She said to Amy.

"The second smallest clan Dramda is lead by Michael an American turned in the seventies by a vampire named Jeana." Once again she looked to Serena for any sigh of recognition, but continued when her expression did not change.

"They rule the western part of the city and while they do fight, they seem more concerned with beauty and sex then ruling the city. They are devious though probably the smartest of all the gangs." Amy said closing the folder to grab another.

"They are not the strongest warriors, but there cleverness helps them win their share of battles and the attention of the two larger gangs which is what they crave." Darien said confidently glancing at Serena.

Amy cleared her throat before going on the get their attention. "The last and most powerful of the gangs is Drakna, the northern gang. They are the largest and strongest gang, both magically and physically. They are strict about only changing the strongest humans and have a system of weeding out the weak."

"The newly turned humans are called Initiates and to prove they are worthy they are sent out on missions to hunt down and capture a pure blood and bring it back to share with the leader. Failures are destroyed." Casually stating repercussions of a failure made the hair on Amy's arms stand on end but she kept a straight face as she looked to Serena as she began to speak.

"They have a good system, but for the fact that the more half breeds they create the less elders there will be to bring back. Eventually the clan members will turn on the leader." She assured.

"But then Drakna does mean betrayal in the ancient tongue, so maybe it is expected? Their system is not one to create loyalty." Speaking more to herself now then her audience she broke off her thoughts and turned to Amy once more.

"Their leader is believed to be Timberlyn descendant of an old one named Armand." She said but stopped when a sharp indrawn breath came from Serena.

"You know Armand I take it." Darien asked Serena staring at her sharply.

"He was one of my father's captains." She said angrily before motioning Amy to continue.

"There are others that say Timberlyn is just a figure head and the real leader is a vampire named Morbin LaRouge." Serena's hiss startled Amy into dropping her folder as she turned to star at the vampire princess. "I gather that's a name you recognize."

Ok I know this chapter took forever and I don't really have any explanation but disinterest but I promise to start work on the next chapter and get it out soon. I hope you like this chapter now yell at me some so I don't get lazy again lol

C ya

Angel


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